HP exec Jon Rubenstein compares webOS to early Mac OS X

Its really good OS for users.
http://acaiburnextremefacts.net

Its really better and nice OS.
http://ginaleskinpeel.org

It's funny that HP compares an OS for a computer with one for a tablet. One thing Steve Jobs said when introducing the iPad, last year, was that a tablet is not a laptop nor is it a replacement for a laptop. It is a replacement for a netbook. Until then companies were treating the netbook market as a market for low-level computers for people who only want to do email, browse and minor text editing. In other words: the target group interested in netbooks consists of people with less demands than the laptop 'people'.
The success of the iPad was that Apple acknowledged that the target group interested in netbooks was not a target group that has lesser needs but different. Apple could serve this market by delivering a device with all the capabilities people wanted in such a device. And Apple emphasized that the iPad was a device for the couch, designed for what all that people want to do in relax mode. I believe that the success of the iPad is mainly due to understanding the consumer. Apple did extensive research before they designed the iPad. Other companies tried to copy the iPad but kept the idea that a tablet is just a less capable computer in the netbook range. By comparing webOS with OS X, HP still talks in terms of an operating system for desktops/notebooks. Until they understand that people need a different computer on their than on their desk, they will not be as successful as they can be.

webOS may have a chance (and I say that as a 25 year Mac user and IOS developer). In order to compete with IOS, webOS needs a key differentiator/disruptor - and HP is the one company that can make that happen. It's likely that webOS is going to show up "real soon" as the embedded interface for MANY HP devices - printers, scanners, ethernet switches, netbooks, server front panels, medical devices, electronic test equipment, etc. This could lead to wide spread acceptance of webOS tablets and phones. As much as I like IOS, don't dismiss HP yet!

I think that comparison is a little optimistic.
HP/WebOS will be crushed between Apple, Microsoft and Google if they don't get their act together very quickly.
As others have pointed out already. The market is a different one this time around.
Apple was "only" up against Microsoft and could win a user base simply by differentiating itself from that one competitor. HP has to go up against 3 of the largest (if not the 3 largest) tech companies + HP doesn't have any credit in the consumer market.

I'll stick to comparing with MacOS X 10.0, not MacOS X's success;

WebOS has no apps and is sluggish, and it won't be as successful as MacOS X (nor iOS or Android) ;)

You don't get a second chance to make a first impression. This sounds like someone trying to buy some time.

HP should just stick to printers and enterprise solutions.

*Correction: Last paragraph: *flounder.

Good thoughts though. things are moving too quick to make such a comparison. I think apple's success was as much about the hardware + software relationship than the software alone. (A battle HP isn't used to fighting...yet.)

The difference between when MacOSX 10.0 was released and when WebOS will be released, is that there wasn't anything that worked as well as MacOS X did back then. Win98 was the main OS, WinME was a crappy patch on it, and WinXP was years away [and a poor copy of OSX].

Now, WebOS has to compete with a mature OS that works REALLY well (iOS) and a less mature but still much more popular (at least, with lots of product available) (namely, Android).

And of course, Microsoft is desperately trying to spread FUD to get people to hold off for their magical Windows 8 tablet OS...